Russia: Knife attacker stabs eight, police 'liquidate' suspect

A knife attacker stabbed eight people on the street in Russia's far northern city of Surgut before being shot by police, AFP quoted investigators as saying on Saturday.

The attacker "carried out attacks on passers-by, causing stab wounds to eight," Russia's Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes said, adding that armed police then "liquidated" the attacker.

The incident took place in a city some 2,100 kilometres northeast of Moscow in the oil-rich Khanty-Mansi region.

Two of those stabbed are in a serious condition while five more are in a stable condition, the government of the Khanty-Mansi region said in a statement, calling the attacker so far "unidentified."

Police called for calm over the incident, saying that "in the interests of public calm and also of the investigation, citizens and media are recommended to use reliable information in assessing the situation until all the circumstances are established."

The attack came just a day after a similar incident took place in neighbouring Finland.

Police cordoned off the area in Turku. AP

On Friday, a knife-wielding man went on a stabbing spree that left two people dead in Turku. Police shot and wounded the suspect on Friday, arresting him minutes after an afternoon stabbing spree at a Turku market square. Finnish police then arrested five people in a Turku apartment overnight in their investigation into the matter. Police on Saturday raised the number of injured in the attack from six to eight.

"There was a raid and we have now six suspects in custody, the main suspect and five others," detective superintendent Markus Laine of the National Bureau of investigation told AFP.

"We are investigating the role of these five other people but we are not sure yet if they had anything to do with (the attack)... We will interrogate them, after that we can tell you more. But they had been in contact with the main suspect," Laine said.

Police have not confirmed the identity of the suspect, but Laine said investigators were "pretty sure" they knew who he was.
With inputs from agencies